Effects of Tetrabasic Zinc Chloride on the Diarrhea Rate, Intestinal Morphology, Immune Indices and Microflora of Weaned Piglets.

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of different dietary zinc sources on the diarrhea rate, intestinal morphology, immune indexes and intestinal microbial composition of weaned piglets. A total of 240 weaned piglets (Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire), at the age of 21 days, were randomly assigned to five dietary treatments for a four-week feeding trial to determine the effects of different amounts of tetrabasic zinc chloride (TBZC) supplementation on intestinal morphology, intestinal immune indices and intestinal microflora in weaned piglets, compared with the pharmacological dose of ZnO. The dietary treatments included a negative control (CON), (T1) ZnO (ZnO, 1500 mg/kg), (T2) tetrabasic zinc chloride (TBZC, 800 mg/kg), (T3) tetrabasic zinc chloride (TBZC, 1000 mg/kg), and (T4) tetrabasic zinc chloride (TBZC, 1200 mg/kg). Each treatment comprised six replicate pens, with eight pigs (four barrows and four gilts) per pen. Dietary TBZC of 1200 mg/kg improved the duodenum villus height, jejunum villus height and crypt depth of ileum, and increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth of ileum (p < 0.05). The dietary supplementation of TBZC at a dosage of 1200 mg/kg has the potential to increase the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the duodenal mucosa. Furthermore, it shows a significant increase in the levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the ileum. Compared with CON, TBZC significantly (p < 0.05) decreased pH values of stomach contents. It also increased the number of Firmicutes in intestinal contents. Compared with CON, the abundance of Firmicutes in jejunum contents of other treatments was significantly improved (p < 0.05), while the abundance of Proteobacteria in ileum contents of high-zinc treatments (T2 and T5) was decreased (p < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary TBZC of 1200 mg/kg improved the digestibility of crude protein in weaned piglets, altered the intestinal morphology of piglets, changed the intestinal microflora of piglets, reduced the diarrhea rate, and significantly improved the development of the small intestine of weaned piglets, and its regulation mechanism on intestinal tract needs further study. In summary, TBZC is likely to be an effective substitute source for the pharmacological dose of ZnO to control diarrhea in weaned piglets.

An Optimized Two-Herb Chinese Food as Medicine Formula Reduces Cisplatin-Induced Nephrotoxicity in the Treatment of Lung Cancer in Mice.

Chemotherapy is considered a most effective way to treat cancer. However, it is very common that chemotherapy causes unbearable mental and physical side effects to cancer patients, which ultimately reduces the patients' confidence of overcoming diseases and compromises the treatment of chemotherapy. Cisplatin (DDP), a widely used anticancer agent for various types of cancers, also damages nontumor cells and tissues, which are mostly related to the activation of the inflammation pathway. Previously, we have discovered a few rational formulas of food as medicine materials that reduced systemic inflammation in in vitro and in vivo models. Hence, this study reports the ability of an optimized traditional Chinese anti-inflammatory formulation capable of synergizing the antitumor effect of DDP in vitro and in vivo. More significantly, by formulation of two anti-inflammatory herbal medicine, the Chrysanthemum × morifolium (Ramat.) Hemsl [Asteraceae] and Lonicera japonica Thunb [Caprifoliaceae] with a mediator Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. ex DC [Fabaceae], a best formula relieved the kidney damage imposed by DDP. Treatments of various combinations of major chemical components of the three herbs also exhibited a similar trend for lowering the DDP-induced nephrotoxicity; however, contrary to that of the formula of herbal extracts, all chemical formulas could not recover the body weight and food intake of the tumor-bearing mice treated by DDP. Our findings suggested that the therapeutic index of DDP-based chemotherapy was able to be improved by minimizing toxicities from the two-herb formula to inhibit the inflammation in mouse tumor models and DDP-induced acute kidney injury mouse models.

Deciphering the Formulation Secret Underlying Chinese Huo-Clearing Herbal Drink.

Herbal teas or herbal drinks are traditional beverages that are prevalent in many cultures around the world. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, an herbal drink infused with different types of medicinal plants is believed to reduce the 'Shang Huo', or excessive body heat, a status of sub-optimal health. Although it is widely accepted and has a very large market, the underlying science for herbal drinks remains elusive. By studying a group of herbs for drinks, including 'Gan' (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. Ex DC.), 'Ju' (Dendranthema morifolium (Ramat.) Tzvelev), 'Bu' (Microcos paniculata L.), 'Jin' (Lonicera japonica Thunb.), 'Xia' (Prunella vulgaris L.), and 'Ji' (Plumeria rubra L.), the long-term jargon is connected with the inflammation of modern immunology through a few pro-inflammatory markers. In vitro studies have indicated that cellular inflammation is lowered by Ju and Jin either individually or synergistically with Gan. Among all herbs, only Gan detoxicated cellular toxicity of Bu in a dose dependent manner. The synergistic formulation of Ju and Gan, or Jin and Gan, in a reduction of Shang Huo, was tested in vivo. Both combinations exhibited a lower percentage of neutrophils, monocytes, and CD4+/CD8+ ratio in the blood, as well as inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, body weight in the combinatory groups was more stable than treatments using single herbs. The combination of old traditional oriental methods with Western science logistics, has resulted in the formulation of different herbs into one concoction for the use of detoxification and synergism.

Influence of emulsifiers and enzymes on dough rheological properties and quality characteristics of steamed bread enriched with potato pulp.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether processing characteristics of steamed bread enriched with potato pulp could be improved through the addition of different emulsifiers (soy lecithin-Soy L, sodium stearoyl lactate and diacetyl tartaric esters of monoglyceride) and enzymes (glucose oxidase-GOX and transglutaminase). Results showed that separate addition of each emulsifier at 1% concentration or each enzyme at 1.5 U/g could increase the viscoelasticity and strength of potato pulp dough due to enhancement of gluten network. Fermentation properties of dough showed that Soy L and GOX significantly (P < 0.05) increased the maximum dough height and the gas retention capacity during fermentation which promoting dough expansion. Moreover, Soy L and GOX increased specific volume and improved crumb structure and softness of steamed bread, which were consistent with the results of sensory analysis. In conclusion, Soy L and GOX could be used as improvers of potato pulp steamed bread.

The effect of the therapy of "combination 3 methods progression" in patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (constipated type): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: As one of the important manifestations of neurogenic bowel dysfunction, constipation is characterized by high incidence and harmful effects. It has a negative impact on both physical and psychological health of patients. And there are no effective treatment options for this type of disease clinically. Therefore, this study is designed to examine the effect of the therapy of "combination 3 methods progression" in patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (constipated type). METHODS: This is a randomized, controlled, parallel-design clinical trial. A total of 60 patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction (constipated type) will be randomly assigned to intervention group and control group. The control group will receive 4 weeks of usual rehabilitation care, the intervention group will receive 4 weeks of the therapy of "combination 3 methods progression" in addition to usual rehabilitation care. The primary outcome is the number of spontaneous bowel movement per week. Secondary outcomes are stool characteristics, degree of difficulty in defecation, level of anxiety, level of depression, and level of self-efficacy. DISCUSSION: The interventions of this protocol have been programmed to alleviate constipation in patients with neurogenic bowel dysfunction. Findings may provide preliminary evidence for clinical efficacy of the therapy of "combination 3 methods progression." TRIAL REGISTRATION: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, IDF: ChiCTR2000041463. Registered on December 26, 2020.

Comparative efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative therapies for tubal obstructive infertility: A protocol for network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Infertility is a kind of global disease. Fallopian tubal obstruction is one of the most important causes of female infertility. Complementary and alternative therapies are effective in treating tubal obstructive infertility, but there is no study on a comprehensive comparison among them. So, the purpose of this paper is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of different complementary and alternative therapies for tubal obstructive infertility. METHODS: We will search for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) from the following databases: PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Web of Science, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database (SinoMed), Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang database, and VIP database. We will assess the risk of bias of the included studies with the Cochrane tool, and the strength of evidence with the GRADE approach. Both pairwise meta-analyses and network meta-analyses will be performed to examine the relative efficacy and safety of complementary and alternative therapies in the treatment of tubal obstructive infertility. CONCLUSION: Our findings will provide clear evidence based on current available studies, which may lead to some proposals for both patients and researchers. INPLASY REGISTRATION NUMBER: INPLASY202110076.

Ginsenoside Rb3 Alleviates the Toxic Effect of Cisplatin on the Kidney during Its Treatment to Oral Cancer via TGF-ß-Mediated Mitochondrial Apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: The research aimed to confirm the role of the transforming growth factor-ß (TGF-ß) in cisplatin- (CPT-) evoked kidney toxicity and elucidate the mechanism that ginsenoside Rb3 (Rb3) could alleviate the kidney toxicity by CPT during its treatment to oral cancer via TGF-ß-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis. METHODS: The model of xenograft nude mice bearing oral carcinoma cells ACC83 was established and treated with CPT and/or Rb3, respectively. Bodyweights of the treated mice were weighed, and the kidney tissues were collected; following, the histopathology and the expression of TGF-ß were examined using H&E staining and immunohistochemistry. Afterward, the renal cells GP-293 were treated with CPT and/or Rb3. The expression and phosphoration of TGF-ß, Smad2, Smad3, Bcl-2, and Bax in GP-293 cells were detected by Western blotting. The cellular apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential were analyzed using flow cytometry. RESULTS: The xenograft nude mice exposure to CPT presented the bodyweight loss, necrotic areas, and the increased expression of TGF in kidney tissue, and Rb3 pretreatment relieved these changes evoked by CPT. In GP-293 cells, CPT administration induced the phosphorylation of Smad2 and Smad3, and Rb3 pretreatment suppressed the induced phosphorylation by CPT. Besides, flow cytometry analysis showed that Rb3 inhibited the CPT-evoked cellular apoptosis ratio and mitochondrial membrane depolarization. The Western blotting test indicated that Rb3 alleviated the cleavage of PARP, caspase 3, caspase 8, and caspase 9, the induction of Bax expression, and inhibition of Bcl-2 expression. Additionally, after treating with the TGF inhibitor of disitertide, Rb3 exhibited no alleviation effects on CPT-evoked cellular apoptosis ratio, inhibition of Bax expression, and induction of Bcl-2 expression in GP-293 cells. CONCLUSION: Rb3 could alleviate CPT-evoked toxic effects on kidney cells during its treatment to oral cancer via TGF-ß-mediated mitochondrial apoptosis.

Biopolymer films based on chitosan/potato protein/linseed oil/ZnO NPs to maintain the storage quality of raw meat.

Biopolymer films based on chitosan/potato protein/linseed oil/ZnO NPs were developed to maintain the storage quality of raw meat. Results indicated that the incorporation of ZnO NPs could effectively improve the transparency and tensile strength of the films, while addition of linseed oil could make the composite film maintain good elastic property. Films blended with chitosan/potato protein/linseed oil/ZnO NPs (Fcpzl) exhibited an excellent moisture barrier capability. SEM showed that ZnO NPs could harmoniously exist in various polymers matrix. FTIR analysis demonstrated that different components were bound together by intramolecular and intermolecular interactions, among which hydrogen bonds were the main force. Raw meat samples were wrapped with different films to evaluate the preservative effect during 4 °C storage. Results indicated that Fcpzl possessed best protective effect of raw meat with excellent acceptable sensory properties during 7 days storage, which could reduce the speed of increasing pH and total bacterial counts.

Genetic diversity and biogeography of T. officinale inferred from multi locus sequence typing approach.

Taraxacum officinale (Asteraceae) is widely distributed weedy plant used as a traditional medicinal herb. The population genetics and historical biogeography of this plant have remained relatively unexplored. This study explores phylogeny, population genetics and ancestral reconstructions adopting multi locus sequence typing (MLST) approach. MLST sequences dataset was generated from genomics and chloroplast DNA sequences obtained from 31 T. officinale haplotypes located in 16 different countries. Phylogenetic analysis distributed these haplotypes in well differentiated geographic clades. The study suggested a close relationship between Europe and adjacent Asian countries. Populations of these regions predominantly formed common haplogroups, showed considerable level of gene flow and evidence for recombination events across European and Asian population. Biogeographical inferences obtained by applying statistical dispersal-vicariance analysis (S-DIVA) and Bayesian binary MCMC (BBM) analysis showed that T. officinale was putatively originated in Europe. Molecular clock analysis based on ITS dataset suggested that the divergence between Europe and East Asian populations can be dated to 1.07 Mya with subsequent dispersal and vicariance events. Among different spatial process long distance seed dispersal mediated by wind had potentially assisted the population expansion of T. officinale.

Quantitative Ethnobotany of Medicinal Plants Used by Indigenous Communities in the Bandarban District of Bangladesh.

This study documents information on significant ethnomedicinal plants, which was collected from the traditional healers of three indigenous communities of Bangladesh. The documented data were quantitatively analyzed for the first time in this area. The information was obtained through open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires. The benefits, importance and coverage of ethnomedicine were expressed through several quantitative indices including Informant Consensus Factor (ICF), Use Value (UV), Frequency of Citation (FC), Relative Frequency of Citation (RFC) and Relative Importance Index (RI). The agreement of homogeneity between the present and previous studies and among the indigenous communities was evaluated using the Jaccard Index (JI). A total of 159 ethnomedicinal plant species, which were distributed in 132 genera under 62 families, were documented from 174 informants. Of these, 128 plants were native and 31 were exotic. Of a majority of documented species, herbs and leaves were the most utilized plant parts for the preparation of ethnomedicines (45.28%) whereas pastes (63.03%) were the most popular formulations. Among the documented species, the dominant families were the Asteraceae (14 species) and the Lamiaceae (12 species). The highest ICF value was 0.77 for digestive system disorders. Based on UVs, the five most commonly used ethnomedicinal plant species in the study area were Duabanga grandiflora (0.43), Zingiber officinale (0.41), Congea tomentosa (0.40), Matricaria chamomilla (0.33) and Engelhardtia spicata (0.28). The highest RFC was recorded for Rauvolfia serpentina (0.25). The highest RI value was calculated for both Scoparia dulcis and Leucas aspera (0.83). Importantly, 16 species were reported with new therapeutic uses and to our knowledge, 7 species described herein have never been ethnobotanically and pharmacologically studied, viz: Agastache urticifolia, Asarum cordifolium, C. tomentosa, E. spicata, Hypserpa nitida, Merremia vitifolia and Smilax odoratissima. The present study showed that traditional treatment using medicinal plants is still widespread in the study area. Documentation of new ethnomedicinal species with their therapeutic uses shall promote further phytochemical and pharmacological investigations and possibly, lead to the development of new drugs.

Characterization of Anti-bacterial Compounds from the Seed Coat of Chinese Windmill Palm Tree (Trachycarpus fortunei).

The increasing of multidrug resistance in bacterial associated infections has impaired the current antimicrobial therapy and it forces the search for other alternatives. In this study, we aimed to find the in vitro antibacterial activity of seed coat of Trachycarpus fortunei against a panel of clinically important bacterial species. Ethanolic extracts of target tissues were fractionated through macro porous resin by column chromatography, using ethanol as an organic solvent with a concentration gradient of 0-100%, each along with 20% concentration increment. The minimum inhibitory (MIC) concentrations of all fractions were measured. It is found that 20% ethanolic fraction showed the most significant inhibition against tested bacterial species. All fractions were analyzed by Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography/mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS) and compounds were identified by comparing mass spectra with standard libraries. By pairing the identified compounds from different fractions with the antibacterial activity of each fraction, it was shown that compounds stearamide (7), 1-(4-Fluorophenyl)-2-(methylthio)-1H-imidazole-5-carboxylic acid (9) and 2,4,5 triacetoxybiphenyl (10) topped in the list for anti-bacterial activity. Further experiment with pure chemicals verified that compounds 9 and 10 have antibacterial activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Whereas, the lowest MIC value (39.06 µg/mL) was obtained by compound 10 against Staphylococcus epidermidis. Hence, the seed coat of T. fortunei with its antimicrobial spectrum could be a good candidate for further bactericidal research.

The Protective Effect of Selenium on Chronic Zearalenone-Induced Reproductive System Damage in Male Mice.

This study aims to explore the protective effect of selenium (Se) on chronic zearalenone (ZEN)-induced reproductive system damage in male mice and the possible protective molecular mechanism against this. The chronic ZEN-induced injury mouse model was established with the continuous intragastric administration of 40 mg/kg body mass (B.M.) ZEN for 28 days. Then, interventions with different doses (0.1, 0.2, and 0.4 mg/kg B.M.) of Se were conducted on mice to analyse the changes in organ indexes of epididymis and testis, antioxidant capability of testis, serum level of testosterone, sperm concentration and motility parameters, and the expression levels of apoptosis-associated genes and blood testis barrier- (BTB) related genes. Our results showed that Se could greatly improve the ZEN-induced decrease of epididymis indexes and testis indexes. Results also showed that the decrease in sperm concentration, sperm normality rate, and sperm motility parameters, including percentage of motile sperm (motile), tropism percentage (progressive) and sperm average path velocity (VAP), caused by ZEN were elevated upon administration of the higher dose (0.4 mg/kg) and intermediate dose (0.2 mg/kg) of Se. Selenium also significantly reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) but enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the testis tissue. Further research demonstrated that ZEN increased the level of mRNA expression of BCL2-associated X protein (Bax) and caspase 3 (Casp3), decreased the level of mRNA expression of B cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 (Bcl2), vimentin (Vim) and cadherin 2 (Cdh2), whereas the co-administration of Se reversed these gene expression levels. Our results indicated that high levels of Se could protect against reproductive system damage in male mice caused by ZEN and the mechanism might such be that Se improved mice antioxidant ability, inhibited reproductive cell apoptosis, and increased the decrease of BTB integrity-related genes caused by ZEN.

The Protective Effect of Grape-Seed Proanthocyanidin Extract on Oxidative Damage Induced by Zearalenone in Kunming Mice Liver.

Although grape-seed proanthocyanidin extract (GSPE) demonstrates strong anti-oxidant activity, little research has been done to clearly reveal the protective effects on the hepatotoxicity caused by zearalenone (ZEN). This study is to explore the protective effect of GSPE on ZEN-induced oxidative damage of liver in Kunming mice and the possible protective molecular mechanism of GSPE. The results indicated that GSPE could greatly reduce the ZEN-induced increase of serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities. GSPE also significantly decreased the content of MDA but enhanced the activities of antioxidant enzymes SOD and GSH-Px. The analysis indicated that ZEN decreased both mRNA expression levels and protein expression levels of nuclear erythroid2-related factor2 (Nrf2). Nrf2 is considered to be an essential antioxidative transcription factor, as downstream GSH-Px, γ-glutamyl cysteine synthetase (γ-GCS), hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1), and quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) decreased simultaneously, whereas the pre-administration of GSPE groups was shown to elevate these expressions. The results indicated that GSPE exerted a protective effect on ZEN-induced hepatic injury and the mechanism might be related to the activation of the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway.